Florida was taken off the bubble and awared a No. 10 seed after losing in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals to Mississippi State, whose bubble burst despite wins over the NCAA-bound Gators and Vanderbilt, and an overtime loss to Kentucky for the second time in less than a month.

Vanderbilt Coach Kevin Stallings offered his take on whether the SEC was treated fairly by the selection committee, and addressed a handful of other topics as well.

Kevin Stallings

“I’m disappointed for Mississippi State because … I didn’t see any of the (SEC Tournament final), but they were perilously close apparently. So I feel bad for (Coach) Rick (Stansbury) and them. I feel like the rest of the league was rewarded appropriately. I feel like all four teams that got in really deserved to be in. I think they could have taken a fifth and probably would have had there not been a number of upsets here in the last couple of days. But I feel like the league was appropriately rewarded.”

On any surprising tournament teams or omissions …

“I don’t pay close enough attention to the basketball landscape to really say if someone should have gotten in or someone should not have gotten in. I was hopeful Illinois would get in because their coach (Bruce Weber) is one of my best friends and it didn’t happen. I’m disappointed for he and his team. I thought they were worthy. I thought they were very worthy. They beat a No. 4 seed (Wisconsin, on Friday) and they took a No. 2 seed to double overtime (Ohio State, on Saturday). But I’m not being critical.”

On whether there is time to look at and study potential NCAA Tourney opponents beyond Murray State …

“There is no other part of this tournament to us other than Murray State. We couldn’t care less about the other 63 teams. There’s only two teams we’ll concern ourselves with … and really on one – that’s us.”

On whether Tennessee deserved a higher seed than No. 6 …

“I don’t look at it closely enough or study hard enough. I tend to think the committee, with all the time and effort they put into it, they’ve got the resources and they’re the ones that study it. … I just don’t have an opinion.”

About The Author

Jeff Lockridge

I have been on the Vanderbilt beat since 2009, at The Tennessean since 2000 and a sports journalist since 1997. Prior to Vanderbilt, I covered primarily high schools from 2000-09. My reporting history also includes stints covering the Titans, Auburn and minor league baseball. I'm a Nashville native and a graduate of Overton High (1993) and Austin Peay (1997). I live in Fr